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Eric Bailly Scoops Manchester United Player Of The Month Award

Eric Bailly Scoops Manchester United Player Of The Month Award

Manchester United’s new recruit Eric Bailly has begun his journey with the English Premier League club in excellent fashion, scooping the Manchester United Player Of The Month award for August.

The Ivorian defender has been a fixture at the back for the Red Devils, adding composure and solidity to new coach Jose Mourinho’s defensive line.

Man United have won all three of their opening fixtures in the 2016-17 Premier League season, and Bailly has contributed to two clean sheets in those first results.

The club’s official website revealed that Bailly won the award with 55% of the votes, which were cast through Twitter and the site. Fellow new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic received 37%, while Daley Blind landed 8% in the August Manchester United Player of the Month voting, which saw thousands of fans take part.

Eric Bailly signed in June

The 22-year-old Cote D’Ivoire international was the club’s first signing of the transfer window, with the defender costing around $40 million from Spanish side Villareal in June.

At the time many commented on the high price of a relatively unknown defender, but he has gone on to prove himself, and now has the Player of the Month award to show for his efforts.

Reacting to his achievement, the Ivorian told MUTV: “The Man-of-the-Match awards are something I hadn’t thought about. But I got them through the hard work I have put in. I hope to see more of that in the weeks ahead of us.”

Bailly made his debut for the Cote D’Ivoire at the beginning of 2015, and played a part in every single game at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where The Elephants emerged victorious.

Cote D’Ivoire will be defending the title they won two years ago when the 2017 AFCON gets under way in Gabon this coming January, and Bailly will no doubt be one of the key players in an ambitious attempt to retain the title.

Mourinho will miss the defensive strength of their new found starlet while he is away on national team duty in Gabon during January and possibly part of February, depending on how far the Elephants progress in the tournament.